Author: Blog Manager

The clamour for farm loan waiver has been rising in the country. The Odisha government recently rolled out a scheme call ‘KALIA’ (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) for small farmers and landless agricultural labourers. Under this scheme, a financial assistance in the form of a loan will be provided to encourage cultivation and related activities.

Recently, during the assembly elections in five states, some parties promised to waive farm loans in their manifestoes. Subsequently, the new governments, including Rajasthan’s, have waived the farmers’ loans.

These developments show that loan waiver promise is a ‘vote catcher’. Consequently, most parties dole out such promises without realising the long term negative impact that populist moves like these have on the country’s economy.

We feel that the condition of our small scale industries is not good. The percentage of non-performing assets (NPAs) has been steadily rising in the industry sector.

In the agriculture sector also, NPAs are shooting through the roof due to farm loan waivers.

It would have been a very pragmatic move on the part of the government if it had waived the interest on the farm loans, and not the loans altogether.

To encourage the farmers, the government could have announced more loans with a lower interest rate for those farmers who timely repay their loans. Such incentives are a win-win situation for the both sides – the government and the farmers.

Today, India is moving towards becoming a capitalist state. And in a capitalistic state, one only talks about profit maximization. Our country will remain a laggard till we promote sustainable development in all sectors.

Recently, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said at a rally that if voted to power, his party would waive the loans of all the farmers.

Some over-enthusiastic politicians reason that when people like Nirav Modi are allowed to run away after defaulting on loans worth Rs 9000 crore, why the government can’t waive the loans of distressed farmers.

Now it is time to think whether a Nirav Modi episode can be a ground to waive the farm loans.

I feel that this policy of waiving farm loans to capture votes during elections is taking our economy in the wrong direction.

Once upon a time, our country’s economy was is such a bad shape that we had funds to purchase fuel (petrol and diesel) for only a few days. We were on the verge of bankruptcy. At that time, P.V. Narasimha Rao was the prime minister. He assigned the job to turnaround the economy to renowned economist Dr. Manmohan Singh, who later on himself became the prime minister.

It is a different thing that people ridicule him for being a ‘silent PM’. There are people who let their work do the talking.

Dr. Singh promoted liberalization, opened the country’s market, thereby giving a new lease of life to our industries.

As a result, our economy grew at a rapid pace, and the world started viewing India as an emerging economic power.

I strongly feel that politics and economics are separate things and need to be kept like that only.

As long as politicians continue to take economic decisions like that of loan waiver, our country will never have a robust economy.

I feel that Supreme Court can also play a role in ensuring that policy decisions are left to experts only.

Even former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had recently said that farm loan waivers should not form a part of poll promises as has been the trend of late.

If we truly want to help our farmers, then we need to frame schemes which ensure more fertility of land, promote organic farming, improve the quality of our seeds and livestock. This will bring sustainable growth in our villages, thereby raising the income and living standard of our farmers.

If a government announces a waiver of say Rs 18,000 crore worth of loans, then it is imperative that it should also talk about ways to compensate the loss by generating the required revenue.

Unless there is a model to generate enough revenue, announcing a loan waiver as a poll promise is a crime, that damages the economy in a big way.

This chapter explains how the Self – Atman – pervades the entire world. The wise seek the Self while the ignorant, disregarding the Self, lead an empty life with vain hopes and unfulfilled aspirations. They go through the endless cycle of birth and death. Confirming the truth behind the saying that whatever one strives for, be it material or spiritual, one attains that particular goal, the ignorant gain their limited, mundane ends but never find accomplishment in their lives, whereas, the wise pursue the ultimate goal of Realization and find absolute peace and bliss in their own Self. Sri Krishna, therefore, advises Arjuna to seek the Self, to subsume all worldly activities to the Self until Spiritual Enlightenment is reached. Krishna begins the chapter by offering to impart the knowledge of Reality that pervades the world and also as to the means of achieving this supreme knowledge and thereby free oneself from all agitations and sorrows. The previous Chapter of the Gita dealt with liberation by stages through the process of meditation. But this way is not the only means of emancipation. A direct way is described in this Chapter. This knowledge being unknown to the mankind at large, Krishna terms it as a supreme secret and hence this Chapter is called ‘Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret’. All living beings and inert things arise from the supreme Reality, exist in the Reality and ultimately merge into the Reality. The periods of manifestation of the world and its dissolution run into billions of years. The supreme Reality acts as the disinterested Self, witnessing the entire creation and dissolution. Those who fail to pursue this knowledge remain bound to the world of mortality. Krishna, therefore, appeals to the seekers to free themselves from the manifest world and reach the unmanifest Reality and to discover the Divinity that supports the pluralistic phenomenal existence.

In this opening verse Sri Krishna assures Arjuna that He will reveal the theoretical knowledge of the Self combined with Its intuitive perception. Such knowledge is the direct means of attaining liberation. This knowledge about the Self dwelling in the body, and about the identity of the individual self and the Supreme Self, is considered most profound mystery because it has only to be realized through one’s own experience or spiritual intuition and cannot be expressed in any words. Arjuna is considered to be the most suitable candidate to know this deep mystery because he is free from jealousy and does not belong to the category of those who always find fault with whatever others do or say. Jealousy-free mind only can absorb deep knowledge, for jealousy is another form of ignorance. Sri Bhagavan says that the one who receives this knowledge (a realized person) shall be free from all irksome problems of life, can rule over circumstances and face adversities with a smile. Krishna assures that by understanding that knowledge one will be released from the evil i.e. bondage of the world.

It is really difficult for the ordinary intellect to comprehend the idea that a substance which exists everywhere, allowing everything to exist in it, but at the same time it in itself does not get conditioned by the things existing in it. Although the wind moves everywhere in the space, exists in the space and is supported by the space yet the wind does not put any limitation on the space. Space holds them all but is touched by none. This illustrates the relationship between the Self and the Not-Self. When the wind moves the space does not move. None of the qualities of the wind is the quality of the space. So also, the Real supports the unreal which seemingly lives in the Real and yet the unreal full of misery and sorrow can never condition the Real.

The whole process of creation, preservation and dissolution is due to the Lord’s maya, His lower prakriti or nature consisting of the three gunas in their undifferentiated state and yet He is unaffected by it. Vedanta while recognizing the fact of creation does not approve of the act of creation. The Lord does not create the universe from nothing or void, for nothing only can come out from nothing. Therefore Vedanta believes that the Lord, because of His power of lower nature, maya, projects out of Himself (manifests) all the names and forms at the time of creation. Consciousness or His higher nature endows them with life.

Observing that Arjuna was endowed with faith , free from fault finding nature and qualified to receive the sacred divine knowledge Sri Krishna says that He will disclose the Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret which will make him realize The Lord in him by direct experience. This knowledge is imperishable, knowing which one will become free from the evil of worldly existence. The Lord says that due to lack of faith in this knowledge, in its manifest and unmanifest aspects, people fail to realize Him and suffer in consequence. Sri Krishna says that all beings are pervaded by Him and dwell in His unmanifest form like the wind moving everywhere but always resting in space. Although The Lord is the creator, destroyer and sustainer of the world, He stands as a witness indifferent and unattached to these processes. The ignorant identify Him with nature or regard Him as a mortal during His incarnations for protecting Dharma. They do not see God in the Universe and have no knowledge of the Self which dwells within the body. They do not see the Unity in the Diversity. They fail to see the ocean beneath the waves. They run after the transient objects and miss the eternal. They have no discrimination or right understanding. The knowers of the Truth see the Reality in externality also. They feel a oneness with all. They chant God’s name always. They worship Him with wisdom sacrifice. They see the formless one as distinct and manifold. He explains to Arjuna His identity with the Universe. The Lord’s enumeration of His different manifestations has been tabulated below for easy reference.

In this Chapter Sri Krishna advises Arjuna to do every thing as an offering to The Lord. All actions thus become a symbol of devotion and help remembering God. Submission to the Divine is the essence of spiritual sadhana. The following verses tell us how to go about in that path

In the preceding Chapter Bhagavan explained about His integral Self and spoke of the deluded ones seeking finite fruit while the wise seek Brahman along with knowing Adhyatma, Karma, Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva and Adhiyajna. Arjuna could not grasp the intricacies of these terms and the secret of knowing God. Hence he puts seven questions to the Lord to know about these six terms and how to realize God. The ‘Akshara’ means indestructible or imperishable. As this Chapter deals with the imperishable and absolute nature of God and the Pranava Mantra ‘OM’, which symbolizes it, it is entitled Akshara Brahma Yoga. In this chapter Bhagavan elucidates about the methodology to gain Brahman – how one can reach Brahman through concentrated yoga and single-pointed meditation. This is the path which leads one to the supreme abode wherefrom there is no return. The chapter also mentions the path of return, a realm of temporary bliss, to which one is transported, only to be brought back to the world of limitation. The imperishable Brahman whose nature is transcendental and immanent pervades this perishable world of things and beings. Whatever one pursues in this world one gains that alone. By pursuing the Self one realizes the Self. Krishna advises mankind to surrender the mind and intellect to the Self while the body is engaged in action which will lead the seeker to the ultimate state of Brahman. He further advices to turn the attention from the mundane world to the Supreme Self within and to control the senses and mind through spiritual practices and thereafter to let the intellect direct such controlled mind to single-pointed meditation upon the pranava mantra OM. By continuous and sustained meditation one will reach the supreme abode of Brahma.

Confining the mind in the heart – Although external stimuli can be prevented through controlling senses , it is always possible for the mind to get disturbed on account of the accumulation of past impressions gathered from the external world of change and pleasure. It is therefore advised that the mind which is the tool for emotion and feeling should be confined to the heart. Here heart does not mean the physical part of the body but an imaginary centre of the mind from which all positive thoughts like love, kindness, devotion, surrender etc. emanate which means the mind whose functions are checked.

As the moment of departure from the physical body is not known to anybody Sri Krishna advises Arjuna that one should always keep the mind and intellect absorbed in Him when he will come to Him alone. Sri Krishna emphasizes the need to practice Yoga at all times. If one practices meditation through out one’s life fixing the mind on God, God consciousness will remain steady even at the time of death instead of on worldly objects. Just as in the disturbed waters of a lake pebbles lying at the bottom cannot be seen, the Self that is indwelling in one’s body cannot be experienced due to agitated mind. Sri Krishna therefore suggests a way out by the practice of which this problem could be got over. He suggests meditating on `OM’ which is the symbol of the Supreme Purusha, Brahma. The repetition of `Om’ creates a harmony in the nervous system and the entire personality of the practitioner will feel single-pointed consciousness which will lead to the experience of the Supreme Consciousness.

The Supreme Lord who creates the Universe is Brahma. The Lord describes the day and night of Brahma each of which lasts for thousands of ages. He says those who know the day and night of Brahma they really understand the terms day and night. From the unmanifested all the manifested worlds proceed at the coming of the `day’ and at the coming of the ‘night’ they dissolve into that alone which is called the unmanifested. But the Supreme Purusha stands as a witness apart from this process of evolution and dissolution. Therefore, those who remember and meditate on the Supreme Being as the eternal witness, at the time of death, will never have re-birth in this world but will reach the Supreme itself, which is beyond space, time and causation. Sri Krishna explains how Yogis realize the Supreme Self at the time of death. He mentions the two paths by which the souls of the Yogis travel. The realized Yogis following the path of Light will merge in the Supreme Being and will have no return; they attain Liberation. The others who have attachment for the material world will go through the path of darkness and will take birth in the mortal world to go through the cycle of birth and death afresh. A Yogi knowing these two paths will not follow ritualistic practices expecting to enjoy their fruits because he understands that everything other than the Self is a source of pain and is transient. Hence he is always immersed in the awareness of Eternal Consciousness. He ultimately attains the Primeval Abode.

The basic advice given by the Lord is that this mortal world is the place of pain and sorrow and is non-eternal and hence the one with God-Consciousness will alone reach the highest perfection i.e. Liberation. Therefore, The Lord emphasizes that one should constantly practice Yoga and meditation so that even at the time of death God-thought alone will come instead of the thoughts of attachment to this materialistic world.

Sri Krishna ended the previous Chapter by describing the supreme yogi as one who, with his inmost self abiding in Him, adores the Lord. We were told about the technique of meditation for obtaining Self-Realization and that a meditator is superior to a Tapasvi or Gnani. It declared that the one who has successfully merged his mind in the nature of Pure Consciousness through single-pointed meditation is the highest and the dearest to The Lord. Arjuna still doubts how a limited and mortal mind and intellect of a finite entity like man could ever understand the limitless Infinite with all its virtues and glory. Sri Krishna therefore clarifies this doubt in this Chapter by describing the nature of the Lord Himself, who is the point of concentration of the yogi’s unwavering devotion. Sri Krishna uses the first person singular pronoun ‘ME’ to mean the supreme Reality or brahman or God. He tells Arjuna that the supreme Godhead has to be realized in both its transcendent and immanent aspects. The Yogi who has reached this summit has nothing more to know. This complete union with the Lord is difficult of attainment. Among many thousands of human beings, very few aspire for this union, and even among those who aspire for it, few ever reach the pinnacle of spiritual realization.

The Lord gives a clear description of the all-pervading static and infinite state of His Being. He then proceeds to explain His manifestations as the universe and the power behind it. He speaks of these manifestations as His lower and higher Prakritis. The lower Prakriti is made up of the five elements, mind, ego and intellect. The higher Prakriti is the life-element which upholds the universe, activates it and causes its appearance and final dissolution. Krishna says that whatever exists is nothing but Himself. He is the cause of the appearance of the universe and all things in it. Everything is strung on Him like clusters of gems on a string. He is the essence, substance and substratum of everything, whether visible or invisible. Although everything is in Him, yet He transcends everything as the actionless Self. Prakriti or nature is made up of the three Gunas or qualities—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. These three qualities delude the soul and make it forget its true nature, which is one with God. This delusion, termed Maya, can only be removed by the Grace of the Lord Himself. ‘Jnana’ means consummate knowledge of the formless and attributeless aspect of the Lord. ‘Vijnana’ means experiencing that knowledge. Awareness of the Lord comprises of both such knowledge and experience. The present Chapter deals with such Integral Divinity and with practices which lead to its knowledge and the fortunate souls who possess such knowledge. In simple terms the Chapter tells us about ¾ the concept of God or Brahman or Soul ¾ examples of manifestation of God in the universe and ¾ how to perceive God within oneself. It is therefore named as ‘The Yoga of Jnana and Vijnana’

A Yogi’s mind is attached to the Lord alone setting aside all the disciplines and worships the Lord with complete concentration. The Lord alone is the whole basis of the yogi’s being and the goal of his action. Practicing yoga means being united with the Lord in contemplation. Knowing the Lord in full implies knowing all His six attributes viz., infinite greatness, strength, power, grace, knowledge and detachment. As Arjuna has the necessary qualifications, Sri Krishna assures that He will give him a complete or integral knowledge of the Divine, not merely the Pure Self but also its manifestations in the world.

The awareness that the Lord exists and that He is the inmost spirit of all is knowledge. This knowledge can be acquired by study of the scriptures, and reasoning about their contents. But to realize the Lord in oneself and in all other beings and to act according to that realization is experience, vijnana. For example, to know that one can obtain fire from wood is knowledge. But to kindle fire in the wood and feel its heat and light in a dark winter night is experience, Vijnana. In Hinduism knowledge of God is inseparable from experience. Because the Lord is everything, when He is fully known everything else is automatically known. The Lord as Sat-chit-ananda (existence-knowledge-bliss absolute) forms the real essence of all objects. Names and forms are mere illusory superimposition. The question why the Self-Realized masters are so rare and why such a realization is not within the reach of everyone is answered. ‘Knowing Me in essence’ – The Being of the Lord and His diverse manifestations are incomprehensible to the human mind. He is the Impersonal Reality, the Personal God, and many other things besides. Of all living beings on earth, man alone can inquire about his self and its relationship with the Lord. Among innumerable human beings, only a few develop a desire for such an inquiry. Among those who show such desire, only a few know the means of attaining knowledge and strive after it. Among those who strive, only a fortunate few succeed in acquiring the true knowledge of the Lord. Hence knowledge of God is rare on this earth. Thus far Ajuna has been taught the highest form of devotion, which leads to union with God in its static aspect as also with His dynamic Prakriti. Krishna tells him that there are also other forms of devotion which are inferior as they are performed with various motives. The distressed, the seeker of divine wisdom, and he who desires wealth, worship Him, as also the wise. Of these the Lord deems the wise as dearest to Him. Such a devotee loves the Lord for the sake of pure love alone. Whatever form the devotee worships, the ultimate goal is the Lord Himself. The Lord accepts such worship, knowing that it is directed to Him only.

He says that low men because of their delusion and indulgence in evil actions, follow the path of the devil (Asura) and get themselves deprived of their discrimination. The difference between man and animal is his rational intellect by which he can distinguish between the good and the evil, the high and the low, the moral and the immoral etc. This rational discriminative capacity alone helps the man to cast off his imperfections and become aware of his essential nature of Absolute Divinity. The evil doers cannot attain to the Supreme, for their mind and will are not instruments of the Spirit but of the ego. They do not seek to master their crude impulses but are a prey to the Rajas and Tamas in them. If they control their crude tendencies by the Sattva in them, their action becomes orderly and enlightened and ceases to be the outcome of passion and ignorance. To go beyond the three gunas, first, we have to submit ourselves to the rule of Sattva. We have to become ethical, before we can become spiritual. At the spiritual level, we cross the dualities and act in the light and strength of the Spirit in us. We do not act then to gain any personal interest or avoid personal suffering but only as instrument of the Divine.

In all beings the three Gunas – Sattva (pure attitude), Rajas (active attitude) and Tamas (inert attitude) are found in varying degrees. The blending of these three qualities of nature in the thought mechanism of man constitutes ignorance or Avidya due to which the whole world gets deluded. Because of this total ignorance or Maya the world fails to recognize His presence – the Eternal, the Imperishable, the Spirit as distinct from the gross Matter. The ignorant believe that the world and the visible objects alone are real and do not seek The Lord at all. They follow the ways of demons and suffer through the series of births and deaths. It is very difficult to remove ignorance and get enlightened. But inspite of this difficulty those who take refuge in Him can overcome the predicament.

An enlightened soul sees beauty everywhere, in everything. It doesn’t get carried away by external beauty.

Today, while flipping through the pages of a book, I came across this beautiful quotation: “People who are attracted to you because of your pretty face or nice body won’t be by your side forever. But people who can see how beautiful your heart is will never leave you.”

This quotation reminded me of an old story. Let’s enjoy it in this edition of Biyani Times.

Once upon a time, a king and his queen lived in a grand palace. The queen was very friendly with one of her maidservants. The maidservant was also very loyal.

The queen had a very beautiful daughter.

The maid had a son who, one day, sees the princess in the palace’s garden and instantly falls in love with her.

He tells her mother that he wants to marry the princess.

The mother gets worried on hearing this. She could sense the approaching danger.

“A maid’s son can’t marry a princess,” she says.

“Then your son will remain a bachelor all his life,” replies the son.

That day, the ever-pleasant smile vanishes from the maid’s face. The queen realizes from the maid’s conduct that something is amiss. She asks but the maid reveals nothing. When the queen keeps insisting, the maid tells the truth.

“So, your son loves my daughter and wants to marry her. There is nothing to be ashamed of in it. Love is the song that a youth’s heart sings,” says the queen. The maid is surprised as she expected the queen to be furious with her son.

The queen says further, “Bring your son to me. I will give him some work, and if he accomplishes that, I will get him married to my daughter.”

The puzzled maid heads back home and tells her son about the condition laid down by the queen.

“I’ll do anything to marry the princess. Tomorrow, I will accompany you to the palace and meet the queen,” the son tells her mother.

Next day, he stands before the queen and asks, “Your Highness, tell me what should I do to win your daughter’s hand?”

The queen says, “Not much, dear son. You just have to spend one year in this palace. We will give you some holy scriptures which you have to read with full dedication.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

The maid’s son is then taken to a room where he is given Vedas, Purans, Bhagvad Gita, Ramayan and Mahabharat etc.

The son gets on the assigned work immediately. Time moves with its pace. Days, weeks and months pass.

Exactly after one year, the queen sends for the maid’s son and asks him, “You have completed one year in the palace. Hope you have studied all the scriptures given to you.”

“Yes your highness, I have gone through them all,” he replies.

“A year back, you wanted to marry my daughter. Is it still so?” the queen asks.

“No your highness, not any more,” the maid’s son replies, and continues, “Your holy scriptures have done a whole lot of good to me. When I first saw your daughter, I fell for her external beauty. But now I know that this beauty is only skin deep. We are not this body, we are a soul. The beauty of the soul is the real beauty. I thank your highness for making me an enlightened being, for giving me the true knowledge.”

With these words, the maid’s son leaves for his home without marrying the queen’s daughter.

The moral of the story is that we mistake physical attraction for real beauty. The external beauty fades with time, whereas beauty of the character and soul gets better with the time. So we should focus more on building our characters.

This chapter is especially important for students who find it difficult to concentrate on studies. Also explained in this chapter are Who is a Yogi? How does a Yogi think? What is Yog kriya ?

In this chapter, Shree Krishna continues the comparative evaluation of karm yog (practicing spirituality while continuing the worldly duties) and karm sanyās (practicing spirituality in the renounced order) from chapter five and recommends the former.

When we perform work in devotion, it purifies the mind and deepens our spiritual realization. Then when the mind becomes serene meditation becomes the primary means of elevation. Through meditation, yogis strive to conquer their mind, for while the untrained mind is the worst enemy, the trained mind is the best friend. Shree Krishna cautions Arjun that one cannot attain success on the spiritual path by engaging in severe austerities, and hence one must be temperate in eating, work, recreation, and sleep. He then explains the meditation for uniting the mind with God. The mind is indeed difficult to restrain, but by practice and detachment, it can be controlled. So, wherever it wanders, one should bring it back and continually focus it upon God. When the mind gets purified, it becomes established in transcendence. In that joyous state of meditation, one experiences boundless divine bliss.

Arjun then questions Shree Krishna about the fate of the aspirant who begins on the path, but is unable to reach the goal due to an unsteady mind. Shree Krishna reassures him that one who strives for God-realization is never overcome by evil. God always keeps account of our spiritual merits accumulated in previous lives and reawakens that wisdom in future births, so that we may continue the journey from where we had left off. With the accrued merits of many past lives, yogis are able to reach God in their present life itself. The chapter concludes with a declaration that the yogi Those who perform prescribed duties without desiring the results of their actions are actual YOGIS , not those who have merely ceased performing sacrifices such as AGNI YAGYA or abandoned bodily activities.

This chapter compares the path of karm sanyās (renunciation of actions) with the path of karm yog (work in devotion). Shree Krishna explains that both lead to the same goal, and we can choose either of them. However, renunciation of actions cannot be done perfectly until the mind is sufficiently pure, and the purification of the mind is achieved by work in devotion. Hence, karm yog is the appropriate option for the majority of humankind. Karm yogis do their worldly duties with purified intellect, abandoning attachment to the fruits of their works, and dedicating them to God. Thus, they remain unaffected by sin, just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by the water on which it floats. With the light of knowledge, they realize the body to be like a city of nine gates within which the soul resides. Thus, they neither consider themselves as the doers nor the enjoyers of their actions. They are endowed with equality of vision and see a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater equally. Such truly learned people develop the flawless qualities of God and become seated in the Absolute Truth. Worldly people strive to relish the pleasures that arise from the sense objects, without realizing that they are verily the source of misery. But the karm yogis do not delight in them; instead they relish the bliss of God within.

The chapter then goes on to describe the path of renunciation. The karm sanyasis perform austerities to control their senses, mind, and intellect. They shut out all thoughts of external

To the soul who is aspiring for perfection in Yog, work without attachment is said to be the means; to the sage who is already elevated in Yog, tranquility in meditation is said to be the means.Of all yogis, those whose minds are always absorbed in me, and who engage in devotion to me with great faith, them I consider to be the highest of all.

In Chapter four, Shree Krishna strengthens Arjun’s faith in the knowledge he is imparting to him by revealing its pristine origin.Lord Krishna explains how this is an eternal science that he taught in the beginning to the Sun God, and it was passed on in a continuous tradition to saintly kings. He is now revealing the same supreme science of Yoga to Arjun, who is a dear friend and devotee.

Arjun is quite surprised and asks how Shree Krishna, who exists in the present, could have taught this science eons ago to the Sun God. In response, Shree Krishna discloses the divine mystery of his dissension. He explains that though God is unborn and eternal

However, his birth and activities are both divine, and never tainted by material imperfections. Those who know this secret engage in his devotion with great faith, and on attaining him, do not take birth in this world again.

The chapter then explains the nature of work, and discusses three principles—action, inaction, and forbidden action. It discloses how karm yogis are in the state of inaction even while performing the most engaging works, and thus, they are not entangled in karmic reactions. With this wisdom, the ancient sages performed their works, without being affected by success and failure, happiness and distress, merely as an act of sacrifice for the pleasure of God. Sacrifice is of various kinds, and many of them are mentioned here. When sacrifice is properly dedicated, its remnants become like nectar. By partaking of such nectar, performers are cleansed of impurities. Hence, sacrifice must always be performed with proper sentiments and knowledge. With the help of the boat of knowledge, even the biggest sinners can cross over the ocean of material miseries. Such knowledge must be learnt from a genuine spiritual master who has realized the Truth. Shree Krishna, as Arjun’s Guru, asks him to pick up the sword of knowledge, and cutting asunder the doubts that have arisen in his heart, stand up and perform his duty.

therefore, with the sword of knowledge, cut asunder the doubts that have arisen in your heart. O scion of Bharat, establish yourself in karm yog. Arise, stand up, and take action